


Honest Feedback

by SubwayWolf



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Denial of Feelings, M/M, Morning After, One Night Stands, Public Display of Affection, Relationship Discussions, Rival Relationship, Rough Kissing, Sexual Language, Unrequited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 05:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11662992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubwayWolf/pseuds/SubwayWolf
Summary: Robert and Joseph have a difference of opinion on sentimentality.





	Honest Feedback

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys are into exposition and foil character studies because this is that. there's some steamy parts but this is really just them arguing over moral differences lmao? i'm sorry. i'll try and do something nasty soon. but i was feelin this and so it happened. rated T for They kiss and touch each other in a diner and there are people around so it's kinda weird but nobody says anything. enjoy!

It took until almost midday for Joseph to assemble the patience to find and talk to Robert. Even by then, he hadn’t entirely planned out what he was going to say. The topic was awkward, but planning ahead wouldn’t facilitate that by any means. So Joseph simply spotted him through the window at a local diner, and walked inside.

The place was otherwise empty. It was that awkward time of day between lunch and dinner, and Robert was most likely eating right now to curb off a hangover. He was mostly done with his food, as Joseph couldn’t quite make out what it was as he stood behind his stool at the counter and got his attention.

“We need to talk,” he began, clear and simple; professional and assertive. 

Robert barely flinched. He didn’t even look up from his meal. “Sure.”

Joseph sat down on the stool beside him. He was ticked off, so it happened a little forcefully and the rickety old seat rocked a bit louder than he’d intended. That got Robert’s attention. 

Robert looked up from his food and noticed the sudden tone shift. He connected the dots himself. “Oh. We’re going to talk about _that_.” Robert sighed. “You seriously want to do this right now?”

“Yes,” Joseph said, hardly refraining from clenching his teeth. “I do.”

Joseph continued the stare-down, straight-faced, until the silence felt heavy. Robert shouldn’t even have a home in the cul-de-sac, in all honesty. Joseph never saw him leave for work, and as far as he knew, Robert only walked from bar to bar all day and night, drinking his life away. It was a wonder that he had room to pay a mortgage. Men like him, who did alleged dirty work with no remorse to show for it, were free agents, sucking up to the highest bidder. To afford a home like his, Robert had been productive, clearly, but his past didn’t warrant appreciation, and certainly not a gorgeous house in the suburbs. But Joseph was, and never would be, in a position to question God’s plan.

Instead of being his typical evasive self, Robert surprisingly got right to the point. 

“Listen, if you don’t want it to happen again, it won’t. If you want to forget about it, feel free. I wasn’t planning on bringing it up anyway.” He shrugged dismissively. “It was just one time. No strings attached.”

That was exactly what Joseph had expected to hear, so he was a little surprised when he felt that shame in his stomach start to twist. Dismissing what had happened between them was obviously effortless for Robert. For Joseph, it wasn’t as simple, that’s why this conversation was necessary. 

“That doesn’t sit well with me,” Joseph admitted. “I don’t usually go sleeping around.”

“Neither do I,” Robert retorted, jumping to defend a moral code Joseph wasn’t sure he actually had. “But you and I have known each other for a while. We’re on the same level, mentally. You’re good-looking. You’re good company.” He smirked a little. “And we were hammered,” he added bluntly, like an afterthought.

That last part wasn’t entirely true. They were drunk, but fully coherent enough to make the choice to spend the night together. It was neither an excuse nor justification, so Robert shouldn’t have been treating it that way. 

Joseph remembered everything about last night. Nothing was blurred from the alcohol, not a single sensation. He could recall each flare of his senses, from the heat their bodies made as skin touched skin, to the scent and silkiness of the handfuls of Robert’s hair Joseph had taken in his fists, to the sound of sex, slick and wet and breathy. Robert hadn’t stayed much longer afterwards, but waking up to an empty bed didn’t give Joseph pause to remember; Robert was the biggest Joseph had ever taken, and admittedly he had woken up this morning sore, finding it difficult to walk.

The memories were clear and prominent, but that didn’t mean Joseph enjoyed recalling them. “We should never have done it in the first place. It was unprofessional.”

“Unprofessional? This isn’t the military, pal; it’s two middle-aged dudes banging each other. Fraternization rules don’t apply.”

“Perhaps _unprofessional_ was the wrong word. I meant, _unethical_.” He had tried to avoid using that word so he would not imply two men sleeping together was unethical. He wasn’t talking about that – he was more referring to the adultery thing. God was clearer on the latter than he was on the former.

All amity in Robert’s demeanor vanished as he thought he had Joseph figured out. “You can’t fool me, Christiansen. I know it isn’t about ethics or the big man upstairs this time.” His eyes washed over with spite. “I didn’t want you after. You weren’t good enough.” His voice was calm. “That must be new to you.”

Joseph put his hands on his lap, so if he needed to ball them into fists, Robert wouldn’t see. “It’s not that.”

Now there was genuine confusion on Robert’s face. “Then what are you sulking around for?”

Damn, Robert really was an asshole. Joseph had to deal with many men like Robert in the past and unfortunately he would have to in the future as well. These “bad boy” types were cocky and emphatic, cold-blooded. Robert was all of those things, but he was different, too. He stood out in a way that Joseph just couldn’t put his finger on.

Robert was getting annoyed, or maybe bored, because of Joseph taking too long to reply. “Hey. What’s your problem? I thought it was mutually understood that feelings had nothing to do with it.”

And there it was – the emotional detachment. Joseph just couldn’t fathom it, he’d never been able to. He couldn’t understand how someone could show themselves to another in their most vulnerable state, how one could succumb to another’s mercy, how their bodies could become one, how they could accept another person inside of them – and then walk away, feeling nothing. It might have been pathetic for him to think so, but it was how he felt. Call it tradition or call it pitiful – there was no changing this aspect of Joseph’s moral code.

Joseph wanted to explain his confusion, but it was no use, for two reasons. First, it would be difficult to get the message across to someone who spent every day and every intrapersonal interaction being stoic and reserved. And second, if he had to explain this outright, there was no way to get it through someone’s head. 

But he couldn’t just leave it at that, he couldn’t let Robert get the last word. So he settled with saying, “Sex is intimate.”

“Physically,” Robert contested.

“Emotionally.”

“Only if you let it. And it depends on the circumstances.”

Joseph shook his head. It completely befuddled him. A lot of people, men and women, thought the same way as Robert, and Joseph didn’t get them either. It almost made him sad that they might never comprehend his own point of view. 

Joseph folded his arms. “You don’t understand.”

“Joseph.” His tone was gentle, borderline condescending now. “You’re allowed to be with someone without growing attached to them. I’m not attached to you, not at all, and I don’t feel bad.”

“You don’t feel anything,” Joseph retorted. 

Robert laughed a little, amused. “That was cheap.”

Joseph wasn’t laughing. “I’m being serious. You don’t have to worry about feelings because you don’t have any.”

Now Robert crossed his arms, to purposefully mirror Joseph’s body language. “Let’s assume that makes sense,” he sighed, holding back from rolling his eyes. “This only leads us to one conclusion.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you have feelings for me?”

The answer wasn’t no, but it wasn’t yes either. “I don’t want to.”

Robert froze. He stared at Joseph, dumbfounded. He obviously had never been faced with this situation before, or he would have had something to say immediately.

There were so many petty things that Joseph could have said in that moment to justify his reluctance. He could have called Robert an asshole. Could have told him that the sex wasn’t even that good, or that Robert had no redeeming qualities, or that he was barely worth the effort of wandering around Maple Bay to find him in the first place. All of those were true. But Joseph was above all that pettiness, so he didn’t say a word.

It took a few moments for Robert to assemble himself. “I didn’t take you for the type, honestly. I must have misread you.” It was remarkable how quickly he could go from speechless to smug again.

Joseph humored him. “What type would that be?”

“A romantic.”

The word came out of Robert’s mouth like an insult, but Joseph couldn’t conceive how it would possibly be a bad thing. He was starting to get ticked off nonetheless. “Ever think that maybe being detached from someone you make love to is a little messed up? How emotionally distant to you have to be, how afraid of intimacy are you, to outright reject how close you were to someone? To me, that seems inhuman.” Joseph made it clear that the last word was an insult, and he hoped Robert would take it that way.

Robert didn’t seem to be bothered. “We didn’t make love,” he clarified. “We got buzzed and I fucked you and left. It’s a difference you need to learn.”

No reaction came out of Joseph. He wouldn’t give Robert the satisfaction of scowling or rebutting or even flinching. Joseph didn’t want a fight to start out of this. He greatly preferred conversation and persuasion over argument. Anger was an energy Joseph disliked processing and would not push himself into handling, well or otherwise.

It turned out, unfortunately, that Robert was stubborn, and he wanted a response, so he kept pushing. “You have to be projecting,” he said with mock-empathy. “I’m no Freud, but there has to be a reason why it’s so hard for you to tell the difference.”

Joseph was growing tired of this. He wondered what Robert stood to gain from pushing this rhetoric down his throat. What did he want? If he was trying to push Joseph off the edge and get him to react negatively or aggressively, that was never going to happen, he must have known that. So it must have been something else. 

Robert turned his entire body so that his stool swiveled and he was looking at Joseph head on “This is a learning opportunity,” he pressed. “You should be thanking me.” 

This was almost laughable. Joseph couldn’t believe that Robert had the audacity to condescend him like this. But on the other hand, he was genuinely smart and extremely analytical - it was one of the things that set him apart from others like him. Maybe he wanted a gauge, a sign of how Joseph was feeling. The joke was on him, though; Joseph himself didn’t have the answer to that.

A pause, in which Joseph refrained, barely, from rolling his eyes, refusing to speak any further.

Robert continued his condescending explanation. “Sex can be a romantic bond, you’re right on that count. But it doesn’t have to be. It can be based on mutuality. It can be stress relief, a distraction, a way of caring for someone – platonically.” He obviously deeply believed what he was talking about, just as much as Joseph believed his own side of the argument. “A correlation between sex and love isn’t mandatory. Use this opportunity to erase that concept from your head.” Robert’s voice turned a little dark, as if he was dishing out a warning. “Sentimentality is a weakness. In a cutthroat world like this, you can’t afford to be weak.”

Momentarily, Joseph envied him. It would be so much easier to be able to forget, to not feel bonded with someone after an experience like this. But it wasn’t possible. Joseph had a heart, unlike the other ninety-nine percent of assholes in this world. That was unfixable, no matter what Robert said.

Instead of saying all that, however, Joseph kept it simple. “Screw you.”

Robert smiled like those two words were a compliment. “I’ll give you some credit. Love must be a good thing, too. At least that’s what people say; I wouldn’t know. But learning the difference between what the heart needs and what the head needs is not just the right move, it’s the smart one – and the only one. Head and heart should never be regarded on the same level, not in this cutthroat world. You already know that.”

The sound of Robert’s voice had grown tiresome by this point. Joseph wanted this to stop. “I didn’t come here to be talked at, and I definitely didn’t come here be patronized.”

Robert looked at him, cocked his head slightly, and asked, “Then why are you here?”

That was a good question, one Joseph couldn’t recall the answer to. It made him realize his growing regret that he had showed up at all. 

It was taking Joseph too long to respond, and Robert read that as a refusal of truth. He half-smiled. “You’re too ashamed to even admit it.” The fake sympathy in his voice was borderline revolting.

Joseph was really hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but if Robert needed to have it spelled out for him, he was more than glad to just do it. “I don’t trust you,” he said through a sigh. “I don’t even like you that much. I want this to die as much as you do, believe me.”

The smile on Robert’s face was gone, like it had never existed. His tone went dark again. “Then do something about it instead of bitching at me.” He leaned closer; a slow approach, like a predator stalking prey. It felt like a challenge.

Joseph wasn’t intimidated by the theatrics, but he still had no intention to be in this man’s path. He backed away, but keeping one’s balance on a decades-old diner barstool was a feat of acrobatics. He felt tempted to lift his hands, to prove with body language that he had no intention of portraying hostility. But he stayed still. Once Robert got close enough, the height difference between them would be clear, and that was as good of a subconscious intimidation technique as any.

The silence carried on as Robert only got closer, until he was close enough to touch, and then even closer than that. There weren’t enough people in the diner to notice this near-intimacy, but it felt like eyes were on them regardless. As cold as he seemed to be, Robert was radiating heat. 

Robert’s voice remained low. “I know one thing we can agree on. If you’re going to let this disrupt your focus and interfere with what you’ve got with Mary, it needs to be killed in its cradle.”

They were close. Succumbing was so easy, but Joseph kept his hands on his lap. There was no reason to speak above a harsh whisper anymore. 

“Then kill it,” Joseph ordered. “Kill it for me.”

That was exactly what Robert wanted to hear. The gap between them narrowed, then disappeared. Their bodies moved together, and Robert reached over to put a hand around Joseph’s back and another on his thigh. This did not make Joseph feel sensual, it made him feel pinned. He knew he could throw Robert off of him at any time, but he let this happen, despite his better judgment.

Robert had to look down to meet eyes with him now. But Joseph didn’t cower, not even a little.   
Despite his low, quiet tone, Robert’s voice remained clear and strong to match his body language. “Physicality can be a useful tool, Christiansen. So can pain.” He put one hand on Joseph’s waist and gripped him there, firmly, to keep him in place. “We can head off into the bathroom stalls. I can fuck your brains out, and I will. I can take away any affection you ever had for me. You’ll walk out of this room a new man.” The ominous smirk increased the tension between them. “You might even thank me.”

Joseph kissed him, providing no warning beforehand. It was partially an effort to see if Robert was telling the truth, but mostly an attempt at shutting him up.

When Robert came to his senses, he relaxed, but the kiss ran rough, and so did his hands. He grabbed fistfuls of Joseph’s dress shirt, bunching it up around his waist, no doubt making a wrinkly mess of the fresh-pressed fabric which Joseph himself would need to iron out in consequence. The intensity of his kissing increased, and he became reckless, forgetting to pause and breathe, clashing teeth, missing his mark. Robert didn’t allow himself to be consumed; he did all the consumption on his own.

The physical contest was being lost by Joseph, who was muscled back until he sat on the edge of his seat, rusted metal creaking under his weight. He reached his hands out, one in Robert’s hair and other on his lap, brushing a feeler touch over the zipper of his jeans. He spread his legs and Robert pressed closer, his leg nudging between Joseph’s, lower halves clashing like their mouths were. It increased the ease, as they were now the same height, and amplified the fervency, too – Joseph could feel heat and pressure elevating between their lips, a dangerous friction that had no place in a family-friendly restaurant.

But even this felt detached, distant, like it was all about action, not about passion. All Joseph could think about was the bitter taste, the hands on his waist, the feel of Robert’s body and his heart beating so hard against him that Joseph couldn’t discern his own heartbeat from Robert’s. It was eerie; Joseph could feel heat between them but nothing in his heart. He went through the motions and felt no passion, no affection; it all felt wrong. 

Joseph hated the emptiness, the detachment from himself. He could feel Robert’s excitement building, in temperature and in a certain pressure amounting between his legs where Joseph could feel it pressing against his hand, a contrast to his own unresponsive tenderness. This was giving him no satisfaction, so he couldn’t let it persist. 

The kiss served its purpose. Joseph learned his lesson. He didn’t need or want to be fucked again to be taught it. He broke away, ending the kiss and subsequently denying every desire on the verge of fulfillment.

Though Robert was noticeably upset that the kiss was cut short, his lips upturned a bit, a little red and tired from overuse. He panted softly and tilted his head, keeping his fingers dug into his palms, fists wrapped around the handfuls of Joseph’s shirt he clutched onto, unwilling to let go. 

Those gorgeous eyes, now half-lidded, had a bit of light to them to accompany the grin. “Now do you understand?” he asked breathlessly, smugly.

Joseph absolutely did understand, but not in the way Robert expected him to. “Yeah. I understand that I don’t want your affection. I don’t want your brutality, either.” He went stone cold. “I don’t want _you_.”

Joseph would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a twinge of satisfaction when Robert’s face dropped and his gaze softened into a distant, detached dejection. He didn’t say another word as he walked out of the diner, leaving Robert alone. And the moment he stepped out the door, Joseph found himself smiling – genuinely, this time.


End file.
